THE GRAYLING FAMILY
(_Thymallidæ_)
_Thymallus signifer._ Head 5-1/2; depth 4-2/3; eye 3; D. 24; A.
II; scales 8-88 to 90-11; coeca 18; body elongate, compressed,
highest under the anterior portion of the dorsal; head rather
short, subconic, compressed, its upper outline continuous with
anterior curve of the back; mouth moderate, the maxillary
extending to below the middle of the eye; maxillary 6 (?) in
head; jaws about equal; tongue, in the young, with teeth, which
are usually absent in the adult; eye quite large, rather longer
than snout; scales moderate; lateral line nearly straight; a
small bare space behind isthmus; dorsal fin long and high,
about 3-1/2 in length of body; adipose fin small; anal fin
small; gill-rakers short and slender, about 12 below the angle.
_Thymallus tricolor._ Head 5; depth 5-1/2; eye 4; D. 21 or 22;
A. 10; scales 93 to 98; gill-rakers 7 + 12; maxillary 2-1/2 in
head; dorsal fin 5-1/2 in length of body. Otherwise much as _T.
signifer_.
_Thymallus montanus._ Head 5; depth 4-1/2; eye 3-1/2; D. 18 to
21; A. 10 or 11; scales 8-82 to 85-10; gill-rakers 5 + 12;
maxillary 3 in head; dorsal fin 4-1/2 in length of body. Other
features much resembling _T. signifer_ and _T. tricolor_.
Owing to the restricted area of its distribution, the "graceful, gliding
grayling" is known to but comparatively few anglers in America. He who
has been so fortunate as to have this beautiful fish respond to his
deftly cast flies, will bear me out in the assertion that for courage,
finesse, and all the qualities that constitute a true game-fish, the
grayling is the equal of its congener, the trout.
In France it is known as ombre, in Germany as asche, and in Norway as
harren. Among all English-speaking people it is the grayling, though
occasionally it is called umber in parts of England. All of these names
are somewhat descriptive of its grayish, ashy, or bluish coloration.
Gliding along in clear, swift water it seems, indeed, a gray shadow; but
fresh out of its native element it becomes a creature of
mother-of-pearl, so beautiful and varied are its tints.
The graceful outlines and beautifully-moulded proportions of the
grayling, together with the satiny sheen and delicate coloration of her
adornment, have always impressed me as essentially feminine. The
evanescent play of prismatic hues on her shapely and rounded sides, when
fresh from the pure and crystal stream she loves so well, reminds one of
changeable silk shot with all the colors of the rainbow. Her tall dorsal
fin, with its rose-colored spots, she waves as gracefully and effectually
as the nodding plume of a duchess.
[Illustration THE ARCTIC GRAYLING]
[_Thymallus signifer_]
[Illustration THE MICHIGAN GRAYLING]
[_Thymallus tricolor_]
[Illustration THE MONTANA GRAYLING]
[_Thymallus montanus_]
The grayling was named by the ancients _Thymallus_, owing to a smell of
thyme that was said to emanate from the fish when freshly caught.
However that may have been in days of old, it is not so now, though an
odor of cucumbers is sometimes perceptible when it is just out of the
water. But the name, if not the odor, has endured to the present day,
for _Thymallus_ is still its generic appellation. The graylings were
formerly included in the salmon family, and are still so considered by
European ichthyologists, who include them in the genus _Salmo_. Dr.
Theodore Gill, however, has formed them into a separate family
(_Thymallidæ_), owing to the peculiar structure of the skull, whereby
the parietal bones meet at the median line, excluding the frontal bones
from the supra-occipital; whereas in the other salmonids the parietals
are separated by the intervention of the supra-occipital bone, which
connects with the frontals.
There are three species in America: one in the Arctic regions, one in
Michigan, and one in Montana. To the untrained eye no great difference
is apparent between these various species as to form and coloration, [1]
and their habits are similar, all loving clear, cold, and swift water,
with gravelly or sandy bottom. They feed on insects and their larvæ,
small minnows, crustaceans, and such small organisms. They spawn in the
spring. The eggs are smaller than trout eggs, running seven to the inch.
They hatch in from ten days to two weeks, according to temperature of
the water.
THE ARCTIC GRAYLING
(_Thymallus signifer_)
The Arctic grayling was first described by Sir John Richardson, in 1823,
from specimens collected at Winter Lake, near Fort Enterprise, in
British America. He named it _signifer_, or "standard-bearer," in
allusion to its tall, waving, gayly-colored dorsal fin. It is presumably
the oldest and original species, and it is not unlikely that it was
transported to Michigan and Montana on an ice-field during the glacial
period. It is often called Bach's grayling, in honor of an officer of
that name who took the first one on the fly, when with the Arctic
expedition of Sir John Franklin, in 1819. It abounds in clear, cold
streams of the Mackenzie and Yukon provinces in British America, and in
Alaska up to the Arctic Ocean. This boreal grayling has a somewhat
smaller head than the other species, its upper outline being continuous
with the curve of the back. The mouth is small, extending to below the
middle of the eye, which latter is larger than in the other graylings,
while its dorsal fin is both longer and higher, and contains a few more
rays. The sides are purplish gray, darker on the back; head brownish, a
blue mark on each side of the lower jaw; the dorsal fins dark gray,
splashed with a lighter shade, with rows of deep blue spots edged with
red; ventral fins with red and white stripes. Along the sides are
scattered a few irregularly-shaped black spots.
A friend of mine, an ardent angler, returned recently from Cape Nome and
the Yukon, in Alaska, where he resided for several years. He informed me
that the grayling is very abundant in the streams of that region, and
that he had taken thousands on the fly; but not knowing that they
differed from the Montana grayling, he did not examine them closely.
THE MICHIGAN GRAYLING
(_Thymallus tricolor_)
The Michigan grayling was first described by Professor E.D. Cope, in
1865, from specimens from the Au Sable River. He named it _tricolor_, on
account of its handsomely-decorated fins and body. At that time it was
abundant in the Au Sable, Manistee, Marquette, Jordan, Pigeon, and other
rivers in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and in
Otter Creek, near Keweenah, in the upper peninsula. It has a somewhat
larger head than the Arctic form, its length being about one-fifth of
the length of the body; the outline of the latter does not differ except
in not being so prominent over the shoulder.
The coloration is purplish gray with silvery reflections, darker on the
back, belly white and iridescent; sides of head with bright bluish and
bronze lustre; sides of the body with small, black, irregular spots;
ventral fins with oblique, rose-colored lines; dorsal with alternate
dusky and rose-colored lines below, and alternate rows of dusky green
and roseate spots above; caudal fin dusky with a middle roseate stripe.
In 1870-1876 I visited most of the grayling streams in Michigan, and
found it abundant, affording fine fishing. At that time it was also in
the Boyne, and in Pine Lake and River. I also took it in Lake Michigan
while fishing for cisco from the pier at Charlevoix. Fish running from a
pound to a pound and a half were common, and occasionally one of two
pounds was taken.
It is sad to contemplate the gradual disappearance of this fish from the
once densely populated streams of Michigan. At the present day the
angler is fortunate, indeed, who succeeds in taking a brace of grayling
where a few years ago his basket was soon filled. This deplorable state
of affairs has been brought about by the axe of the lumberman, whose
logs, descending the small streams on the spring rise, plough up the
spawning beds, smothering the eggs and killing the helpless fry. As
brook-trout spawn in the fall they escape this calamity, the fry being
old enough in April to take pretty good care of themselves. The decrease
of both trout and grayling is commonly attributed to overfishing; but
while this may have its influence to a limited extent in lessening the
numbers for a season, other causes must be looked for to account for the
permanent depletion of certain waters.
A stream or pond will support but a limited number of fish, the number
depending on the supply of natural food for both young and mature. By
the supply of food on one hand, and the natural enemies of the fish on
the other, a certain balance is maintained which if disturbed by, say,
overfishing one season, will be restored by natural laws the next. And
this state of affairs will continue so long as the natural conditions of
the waters remain undisturbed.
By cutting down the pine trees at the sources of the streams and along
the small tributaries, which are the spawning grounds of both trout
and grayling, the natural conditions are changed. The scorching rays of
the summer sun are admitted where once mosses and ferns and the trailing
arbutus luxuriated in the shade of a dense growth of pines and hemlocks
and firs. The soil becomes dry, the carpet of green shrivels and dies,
and the myriads of insects that once bred and multiplied in the cool and
grateful shade, and whose larvæ furnish the food for the baby fish,
disappear. The brooks and rivulets diminish and vanish. A page has been
torn from the book of nature, and the place that trout and grayling knew
so well is known no more forever.
THE MONTANA GRAYLING
(_Thymallus montanus_)
The Montana grayling was collected by Professor James W. Milner, of the
United States Fish Commission, in 1872, from a tributary of the Missouri
River, at Camp Baker, in Montana. He named it _montanus_, from the name
of the state. Lewis and Clark, however, during their wonderful journey
that blazed the western course of empire, described, but did not name
it, seventy years before, from fish taken near the head waters of the
Jefferson River. A few years ago (1898) it was my good fortune to be the
first to call attention to this prior description. Knowing that Lewis
and Clark ascended the Jefferson nearly to its source in the Rocky
Mountains, in 1805, I thought it extremely probable that those
remarkably close observers had mentioned the existence of this beautiful
and well-marked species. Upon investigation I found my surmise to be
correct. On page 545 of Dr. Elliott Coues's edition (1893) of "The Lewis
and Clark Expedition," I found the following:--
"Toward evening we formed a drag of bushes, and in about two hours
caught 528 very good fish, most of them large trout. Among them we
observed for the first time ten or twelve trout of a white or silvery
color, except on the back and head, where they are of a bluish cast; in
appearance and shape they resemble exactly the speckled trout, except
they are not so large, though the scales are much larger; the flavor is
equally good." (In a foot-note Dr. Coues stated that this fish remained
unidentified.)
The locality where these fish were taken was near the head waters of the
Jefferson River, where Lewis and Clark abandoned their canoes and
crossed the Continental Divide on horses purchased from the Indians. At
this point the grayling is abundant to-day, as I know from personal
observation, and coexists with the red-throat trout almost to the
exclusion of all other species.
Lewis and Clark were both remarkable for clear and correct descriptions
of the animals and plants met with during their journey, many of which
were new to science; but as they neglected to give them scientific
names, others have reaped the honors of many of their discoveries. I
published my identification of the fish in question as being undoubtedly
the grayling, and soon afterward received a letter from Dr. Coues,
congratulating me and indorsing my opinion, which he said was certainly
correct.
The Montana grayling is found only in the tributaries of the Missouri
River above the Great Falls. In Sheep and Tenderfoot creeks, tributaries
of Smith River, in the Little Belt Mountains, it is fairly abundant, as
it is likewise in the three forks of the Missouri,--the Gallatin,
Madison, and Jefferson rivers. Its ideal home is in several tributaries
at the head of Red Rock Lake, swift gravelly streams, and especially in
the upper reaches of the Madison above the upper cañon, where the
water is rapid, though unbroken, the bottom being dark obsidian sand,
with a succession of pools and shallows. I have taken fish weighing two
pounds in Beaver Creek, in the upper cañon, which is also an ideal
stream. Such situations are peculiarly adapted to the grayling, being
preferred to the broken water of rocky streams so much favored by trout.
The Montana grayling is a trimmer-built fish than its Michigan cousin,
being not quite so deep, proportionally, and with larger scales. Its
dorsal fin is about the same height, but with one or two less rays.
Its back is gray, with purplish reflections; sides lighter, with lilac,
pink, and silvery reflections; belly pearly white. It has a few
irregularly-shaped black spots on the anterior part of the body, but
none posteriorly as sometimes on the Michigan grayling. It has two
oblong dark blotches in the cleft of the lower jaw, and a heavy dark
line running from the ventrals to the pectoral fin; these markings are
more pronounced in the male, being quite faint or wanting in the female.
The dorsal fin has a rosy-red border, six or seven rows of roseate,
roundish spots, ocellated with white, and gray blotches form lines
between the rows of red spots; in the upper, posterior angle of the
dorsal fin are several larger oblong rosy spots; the ventral fins have
three rose-colored stripes along the rays; the pectoral and anal fins
are plain; the caudal fin is forked.
As a game-fish the grayling is fully the equal of the trout, though its
way of taking the artificial fly is quite different, and the old hand at
trout fishing must pay court to "the lady of the streams" with the
greatest assiduity before he is successful in winning her attention to
his lures. And even then he must become fully conversant with her coy
and coquettish way of accepting his offer, though it be cast never so
deftly. There is a rush and snap and vim in the rise of a trout to the
fly that is lacking with the grayling. The trout often leaps above the
water to seize the fly, while it is taken more quietly and deliberately,
though just as eagerly, by the grayling from below. In other words, it
is "sucked in," as English anglers term it, though that hardly expresses
it, as the act is not so tame as might be inferred. On the contrary, the
grayling rises from the bottom of a pool and darts upward like an arrow
to seize the fly, though as a rule it does not break water, and is not
so demonstrative as the trout; but it seldom misses the mark, if the
fly is small enough, which the trout often does.
Sometimes the grayling will rise a dozen times to a fly, and for some
reason refuse it, but will take it at the very next cast. Just why this
is so is one of the unanswerable problems that often vexes or confounds
the angler. Presumably the fly is too large, or is not presented in just
the right way to please her ladyship. But the angler should not despair
under such circumstances, but remember the old couplet, "If at first you
don't succeed, try, try again." Moreover, he must remember that he is
fishing for grayling, not for trout. He must not cast on a riffle, or at
its head, but below, in the eddy or still water, where it is deepest.
There lie the large fish, though small ones may be in the shallower
water, and it is the latter that perplex one by their antics, oftentimes
leaping over one's flies in play.
Trout generally lie in ambush beneath the bank, shelving rocks, or
roots, usually in shallow water, from whence they rush with tigerlike
ferocity upon the fly, often leaping over it in their eagerness for the
fancied prey. On the contrary, grayling lie on the bottom of pools, in
swift water, entirely in the open. They are also gregarious, assembling
in schools, while the trout is a lone watcher from his hidden lair.
Some dry fly-fishers of England, echoing the opinion of Charles Cotton,
term the grayling a "dead-hearted fish" that must be taken with a wet or
sunken fly. This idea of its lack of gameness is implied in Tennyson's
lines:--
"Here and there a lusty trout.
And here and there a grayling."
As the English grayling grows only to half of the weight of the trout,
it suffers by comparison when killed on the heavy rods of our English
brothers. Their assertion, also, that the grayling has a tender mouth,
and must be handled gingerly, is another fallacy, inasmuch as it has as
tough lips as the trout, but the smaller hooks of grayling flies do not
hold so firmly as the larger and stronger hooks of trout flies.
It must not be supposed that the grayling is not a leaping fish because
it takes the fly from beneath the surface of the water. On the contrary,
in its playful moods it may be seen leaping above the surface the same
as a trout, and moreover it breaks water repeatedly after being hooked,
which the trout seldom does. It puts up a stiff fight also beneath the
surface, being much aided in its resistance by its tall dorsal fin. It
is no disparagement, then, to the gamesome trout, to declare the
grayling its equal when of similar size and weight.
Grayling fishing has been practised in England for centuries. In
addition to fly-fishing, swimming the maggot, where a tiny float is
used, is a common method. An artificial bait, called the grasshopper, is
likewise employed. While grayling are taken during the trout season, in
spring and summer, the most successful season seems to be from September
to December, when they are at their best, both as to gameness and
condition.
With English anglers the universal practice is to fish up-stream, as the
fish are not so apt to see the angler, and that plan undoubtedly has its
advantages in the clear and shallow streams of England. In fishing for
grayling, however, it is advised by some of their best anglers to cast
across the stream, instead of above, and allow the flies to float down.
No reason is given for this deviation from the generally accepted method
with trout; but I imagine that as grayling lie on the bottom of deep
pools, it has been found by experience that they are not so apt to see
the angler as other species in mid-water or near the surface, especially
in the clear chalk streams.
In America, the streams being deeper, the necessity for fishing
up-stream is not so apparent. Fishing down-stream is by far the best
plan, for obvious reasons, if the angler wades slowly and cautiously, so
as not to roil the water. The principal reason is that one's line is
always straight and taut in swift water, and the flies can be more
easily controlled and floated down over the fish, which always heads
up-stream. Upon hooking the fish it can be drawn to one side, whereby
the other fish in the pool are not much more alarmed than in the case of
casting up or across. Casting across seems to be really a concession to
the advantage of fishing down-stream.
The fly-rod, reel, line, and leader ordinarily employed for
trout-fishing may be used also for grayling, though I would advise some
modifications. While a first-class split-bamboo rod of three and a half
or four ounces may be advantageously used by an angler who knows how to
handle a very light rod, I prefer one of five or six ounces. Such a rod
is certainly light enough to be used all day without fatigue, and it is
well to have the resourceful reserve of an ounce or two for
emergencies. In any case it should not exceed ten and one-half feet in
length, if built on the modern plan, where most of the pliancy is in its
upper two-thirds, the lower third being stiffish and springy,
constituting its backbone. A very good rod can be constructed with ash
butt, and lancewood, greenheart, or bethabara upper pieces, and one that
will be almost as light as split-bamboo, and certainly more serviceable
in the long run. I would also advise flush, non-dowelled joints, and
reel-bands instead of a solid reel-seat, the latter being of no
advantage and only adding to the weight of the rod; moreover, it is now
put on the cheapest rods to make them sell. A plain groove for the reel,
with bands, is very much better.
As a matter of course the line should be of braided silk, enamelled, and
suited to the weight of the rod, as small as size G, but not larger than
size E. It may be level, but a tapered line is better for casting, and
is also better adapted for the delicate leader that must be employed.
A tapered leader six feet long is best, but should not be shorter than
four feet. It must be made of the very best silkworm gut fibre, round,
clear, and unstained. The distal end should be made of the finest drawn
gut, known as gossamer, and taper to the larger or proximal end, which
should be the smallest undrawn gut.
In England the most delicate leaders and extremely small flies are
employed for grayling. The flies are usually tied on Pennell hooks,
turndown eye, sizes 0, 00, 000, Kendal scale, which are smaller than No.
12, Redditch scale, the latter being the smallest size commonly used in
America. The favorite flies in England have yellowish--lemon to
orange--bodies, and bodies of peacock harl, either green or bronze.
Flies with purplish, black, or slate-colored bodies are more sparingly
employed. They are either hackles or split-winged flies. The formulas
for some of the favorites are as follows:--
_Red Tag._ Body bright green harl from the "moon" of a
peacock's feather; hackle, bright red cock's hackle; tag,
bright red wool; hook, No. 0, Kendal scale.
_Orange Bumble._ Body, orange floss silk, ribbed with a strand
of peacock's sword feather and fine flat gold tinsel; hackle,
honey dun cock, wrapped all down the body; hook No. 0, Kendal
scale.
_Green Insect._ Body, bright green peacock's harl; hackled with
a soft silver-gray hen's feather; hook No. 0, Kendal scale.
_Bradshaw's Fancy._ Body, copper-colored peacock's harl;
hackled with a feather from the neck of a Norwegian crow; tag,
bright crimson wool or silk, with a couple of turns of the same
at the head; tying silk, dark purple; hook No. 0, Kendal scale.
_Claret Bumble._ Body, claret floss silk, ribbed with a strand
of peacock's sword feather; medium blue dun cock's hackle;
hook. No. 0, Kendal scale.
Most of the foregoing are fancy flies, but are considered the best
killers on English waters. In this country it has been demonstrated,
also, that flies with bodies of peacock harl, or with yellowish bodies,
have been more uniformly successful than others. From this it would
appear that the predilection of grayling for certain colors in
artificial flies is much the same both in this country and England. From
my own experience I can recommend the following well-known flies,
adding, however, that their construction should be a little different
from the conventional trout flies of these names in having a red tag or
tail of scarlet wool, instead of the usual tail, and in having narrow
split wings instead of the regular style of full wings:--
Yellowish-bodied flies: professor, queen of the water, Oconomowoc, Lord
Baltimore. Green-bodied flies: coachman, Henshall, and grizzly king.
Other useful flies are black gnat, cinnamon, iron-blue dun, oriole, red
ant, gray hackle, and black hackle. They should all be tied on Sproat or
O'Shaughnessy hooks, No. 12, Redditch or common scale. Two flies only
should be used in a cast, and of different colors.
Bearing in mind that the portions of a stream mostly used by grayling
are the sandy and gravelly pools in swift, smooth water, they are fished
for in much the same way as trout, except that the flies are allowed to
sink below the surface, very much as in black-bass fishing. It is very
important that the line and leader are always taut, inasmuch as the rise
of the fish is not always seen, except as a quick flash or shadow
beneath the surface. With a tight line the fish will be more apt to hook
itself. With the small hooks of grayling flies, it is not wise for the
angler to attempt to "strike," as in trout or black-bass fishing.
Upon hooking the fish it should be led sidewise from the pool, if
possible, so as not to disturb or frighten the others of the school; and
for the same reason it should be kept near the surface until taken into
the landing-net.
Either a light trout bait-rod or the fly-rod may be employed for
bait-fishing for grayling, with fine silk line, leader, and hooks Nos. 6
to 8 with a split-shot sinker a foot above the hook. English anglers use
a small float, but in fishing down-stream it is not advisable, as the
current prevents the bait from touching the bottom, and renders the use
of a float for this purpose unnecessary. The bait should be kept from
six inches to a foot above the bottom. The best bait is the larva of the
caddis-fly, a small worm or caterpillar encased in a bag or covering
composed of bits of bark, sticks, etc.; it is known in the Rocky
Mountain region as the "rockworm." Earthworms, small grasshoppers,
crickets, and grubs of various kinds are also useful.
When it became known to fishculturists, about 1874, that the grayling
existed in Michigan, attempts were made to propagate it artificially,
but without success, as the same lines were pursued as with the
brook-trout. It remained for the United States Fish Commission to
successfully cope with the problem in Montana, under my supervision.
Beginning with 1898, we have hatched millions at Bozeman Station and the
auxiliary station near Red Rock Lake, at the head of the Jefferson
River. We have also shipped millions of eggs to different parts of the
Union, as far east as Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, mostly to
United States Fish Commission stations, where they were hatched and
planted in suitable streams. It is to be hoped that some of these
plants will result in the permanent establishment of this beautiful and
desirable fish in eastern waters.
The eggs of the grayling are smaller than those of the trout, being but
one-seventh of an inch in diameter. When first extruded they are
amber-colored, owing to a large oil-drop, which renders them lighter
than trout eggs, almost semi-buoyant, and for this reason are best
hatched, or at least "eyed," in hatching jars. My plan is to keep them
in the hatching jars until the eye-spots show, when they are removed to
hatching-trays until incubation is complete.
In a few days after extrusion the eggs become crystal-like or hyaline in
color, when the embryo can be seen in motion. The period of incubation
is from ten days to two weeks. The fry when hatched are very small,
about the size of mosquito "wigglers" (larvæ). Their umbilical yolk-sac
is absorbed in a few days, when it becomes imperative to supply them
with stream water, which contains the small organisms (_Entomostraca_)
on which they feed at first. Afterward they can be fed artificially the
same as trout fry, which they soon outgrow.
There is an erroneous opinion that has gained considerable currency
among anglers to the effect that grayling and trout are antagonistic,
and that to this cause is to be attributed the decrease of grayling in
the waters of Michigan. My observations have led me to the conclusion
that this opinion is not supported by any evidence whatever. When I
fished the streams of that state, years ago, both trout and grayling
were plentiful in the same waters, and were living in harmony as they
had done from time immemorial. Their habits and choice of locality being
different, the trout hiding under cover and the grayling lying in
exposed pools, their struggle for existence or supremacy does not bring
them much in opposition, or cause them to prey on each other or on their
eggs or fry in an unusual degree, or to such an extent as to effect the
marked decrease of either species. Honors are even. It is the same in
Montana. In that state the red-throat trout and grayling seek out such
portions of the streams as are best suited to them; but very often they
are found together on neutral ground, where they live peaceably and not
at variance with each other. As no disturbing element has yet been
introduced, their numbers still bear the same relative proportion that
has existed since the days of yore.
Likewise in England, in such historic waters as the Wye, the Derwent,
the Wharfe, or the Dove, hallowed by "meek Walton's heavenly memory,"
the grayling and trout still coexist in about the same relative
proportion that has been maintained since and before the days of Dame
Juliana Berners, Izaak Walton, and Charles Cotton in the fifteenth
century. On those quiet streams no cause has ever been allowed to
militate against the well-being of either species, or to disturb the
natural conditions to any considerable extent.
In a recent number of the _London Fishing Gazette_ is one of the best
articles on the English grayling that I have ever seen. It is written by
Mr. E.F. Goodwin, who is undoubtedly fully conversant with his theme
and well acquainted with the habits of that fish. Among other things he
says:--
"When in season I maintain that the grayling will give excellent sport
on suitable tackle, is splendid eating, and is as handsome a fish as any
angler need wish to gaze upon. What more can one want? How Charles
Cotton could have written in such terms of condemnation of the sporting
qualities of this fish as to call him 'one of the deadest-hearted
fishes in the world, and the bigger he is the more easily taken,' passes
my understanding, although we must remember that this remark was passed
to 'Viator' on his catching a grayling in the early part of March, when
the fish would be out of condition in all probability. I confess to a
feeling of disappointment at the summary way in which Walton dismisses
the grayling, showing that he did not think very highly of him either
from an edible or sporting point of view.
"Grayling will rise readily to the artificial fly, and although they
will come again time after time if missed (or perhaps I should say if
they miss the fly, which is more usual), they require the neatest and
finest tackle and the most delicate handling to secure them; and as
Francis truly says, 'when you have hooked a grayling, your next
job is to land him.'--There is a lot of difference between the way a
well-conditioned trout and grayling fight after being hooked, and this
may account for some of the condemnation heaped upon the latter as to
its non-sportive character; for although not so lively as the trout with
its mad rushes for liberty, yet the kind of resistance is more dangerous
to the hold you have on him, for the grayling tries the hold of the
hook in every possible way, and from every possible point of that hold.
To my mind a grayling is much more difficult to land than a trout, and
the more I fish for grayling the more convinced I am of his gameness and
sporting qualities. Certainly there are a great many more grayling lost
after being hooked than trout, and this is accounted for principally not
so much from the reputed tenderness of the mouth as from the fact of the
fish not being so firmly hooked as the trout usually is.
"The ideas of grayling not heading up-stream and of being deleterious to
the trout have been perpetuated by author after author, just copying one
another without really ascertaining the facts.... As regards the
advisability of introducing grayling into a trout stream, that depends
entirely upon the nature of the river. As far as my experience and
observation go, grayling only become detrimental to the trout in that,
being active and voracious feeders, they consume the food that otherwise
would have belonged to and been partaken of by the trout. It is certain
that these fish live together in general amity. The grayling is but
seldom a fish eater, and therefore any accusation as to its being
destructive to the fry of trout is untenable. That it, in the
trout-spawning season, may help itself to what it can find of the
superfluous ova which float down the stream no one can object to, but as
to its burrowing in the redds and disturbing the hatching ova. I very
much doubt it. Both the late Dr. Brunton and Dr. Hamilton were very
strong in their assertion that this was a matter of impossibility with
the grayling, and yet we are assured by Dr. James A. Henshall that the
fry of grayling are as much addicted to cannibalism as the pike-perch
fry."
After giving a brief space to natural bait-fishing, he goes on to say:
"But after all there is only one way in which this fish should be
caught, and that is with the fly. This ground has been gone over so many
times that it only remains for me to say that, the grayling being a bold
and daring riser, never be discouraged if you fail to hook him, even if
he rise at your fly time after time. He lies very low in the river when
watching for his prey, and therefore is not so easily disturbed; and if
you remain quite still when he has risen and missed the fly and gone
down to his lair, he will surely rise again. His rise, too, is different to
a trout. A trout, from lying close to the surface when feeding, takes
without effort the flies floating over him, and also is easily scared.
A grayling, from lying deep in the water, quite close to the bottom,
comes up with great rapidity, and seldom takes the fly until it has
passed him; and should he miss it, which often happens, disappears
so quickly that he may well be compared to a shadow--hence the name
of 'umber,' from _umbra_, a shadow. Should you hook him, up goes his
great dorsal fin and down goes his head in his determination to get to
his hiding-place, and it depends on his size and gameness, as well as
the skill of the angler, whether he succeeds or not. I have often heard
anglers complain that grayling are more difficult to hook than trout.
Experienced anglers are all aware that grayling are not so easily hooked
on the rise as trout, but he offers the best compensation in his power by
consenting to rise over and over again until if you do not hook him the
fault is yours, not his. When he rises at a passing fly he must ascend
at lightning speed in order to cover the distance in time to catch it;
having done so, he turns instantly head down and descends at the same
speed. This is really the 'somersault' so well known to grayling fishers.
With a long line it is next to impossible to strike a grayling on the
instant, and a taut line in this fishing is of even greater importance
than in trout-fishing."
[Illustration THE MORE SPORTSMANLY WAY OF CATCHING MASCALONGE]
I have given the above liberal quotations because the article agrees so
well with my own practice in grayling fishing, and accords with the
habits of the American graylings as I have observed them.
FOOTNOTE:
[Footnote 1: SPECIFIC CHARACTERIZATIONS OF THE
GRAYLINGS
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
| | T. signifer | T. tricolor | T. montanus |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Head in length | 5-1/2 | 5 | 5 |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Depth in length | 4-2/3 | 5-1/2 | 4-1/2 |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Eye in head | 3 | 4 | 3-1/2 |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Maxillary in head | 6 (?) | 2-1/2 | 3 |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Scales | 8-88 to 90-11 | 93-98 | 8-82 to 85-10 |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Gill-rakers |12 below the angle| 7 + 12 | 5 + 12 |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Dorsal rays | 20-24 | 21-22 | 18-21 |
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Height of dorsal fin| 3-1/2 in length |5-1/2 in length|4-1/2 in length|
+--------------------+------------------+---------------+---------------+]